Billerica's alarming oversight: uninspected hydrants

BILLERICA -- The closest fire hydrant was more than 42 years old and the valve was stuck shut.

According to Billerica's bylaws, it's the town's responsibility to check every fire hydrant annually. But officials did not know there was a broken hydrant on Lupine Lane until it was too late.

The reason is because despite the bylaw's rule for annual inspection, no single town department is tasked with the responsibility.

It was still dark on the morning of July 20, and across the street from the Lupine Lane hydrant, a $219,000 house was enveloped in flames.

Fire crews tried fruitlessly to hook up a hose to the Lupine Lane hydrant. A hydrant on neighboring Edgar Road was used instead.

Shortly after firefighters doused the blaze, fire Capt. Steven Jenkins told The Sun that a "water-supply issue forced us to go to a defensive operation."

Two days later, water crews with the Department of Public Works replaced the faulty hydrant. The new hydrant sits just steps away from the now-condemned house at 15 Lupine Lane.

But would a working hydrant have changed the outcome?

Hardly, Fire Chief Tom Conway said Tuesday. He said there were enough engines carrying their own water supply that the response to the blaze was not hampered. Saving the house, officials noted at the time, would have been nearly impossible. The first emergency call was placed by a neighbor living at the other end of Edgar Road, meaning the flames were already visible from more than 500 yards away.

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According to town data, there are about 1,800 public fire hydrants in Billerica. The Department of Public Works keeps track of the hydrants' ages. Approximately 26 hydrants were installed and manufactured between 1956 and 1959.

Out of the town's total inventory, 356 hydrants were manufactured and installed between 1960 and 1969; 369 between 1970 and 1979; 380 between 1980 and 1989; and another 419 between 1990 and 1999.

Conway pointed out that the Board of Selectmen several years ago initiated a new town bylaw -- approved at Town Meeting -- calling for increased inspections. The problem, Conway and Town Manager John Curran both said, is funding it. With 1,800 individual hydrants, Curran said worker overtime costs add up.

Selectman Mike Rosa, who was a Town Meeting representative in 1997, proposed the bylaw for that fall's Town Meeting to address inspections. He said Wednesday he remembers filing the petitioner's article in response to a fire in the town's Pinehurst neighborhood that destroyed a 7-Eleven convenience store.

He said firefighters at that time had problems dealing with the blaze because the nearest hydrant was broken. Rosa's proposal, which passed, was added to the bylaws. It specifically mandates that the town must "test and immediately replace or repair all non-functioning hydrants on a yearly basis."

The bylaw also requires all hydrants to be lubricated at least once every two years.

The year the bylaw went into effect the town discovered so many unusable hydrants that it ran out of its cache of replacement models, according to Rosa.

At the time of the bylaw's enactment, town records show that it was the responsibility of the Fire Department to inspect hydrants. Rosa said he remembers driving by inspection crews. However, a source in Town Hall said on condition of anonymity that language in the Billerica Firefighters Union contract pertaining to hydrant inspections was stripped during contract negotiations at least five years ago.

Curran, who was not working for Billerica at the time of the negotiations, confirmed Wednesday the omission of fire-hydrant inspection language.

He added that fire crews still conduct visual inspections of hydrants but don't "crack them" or open them up.

On Tuesday, Curran said officials are moving forward to address the issue.

One warrant article that will appear at October's Town Meeting calls for adding $50,000 to the Public Works budget. The added money would be used to pay the overtime he said was necessary for Water Department workers to inspect the town's 1,800 hydrants.

Conway agreed that visual inspections rarely determine whether a hydrant is operational. He pointed out that New England winters are usually to blame for broken hydrants. Visually a hydrant might look fine but "the same hydrant could have been struck by a plow or a truck," he said.

If there is lingering water inside the hydrant, freezing temperatures can also inflict damages, he added.

"It's not only a question of money but also time," Conway said about the business of checking hydrants. "You can test one and it might take 15 minutes but a problem might be found in another that could take all day to fix."

Regarding the union contract, Conway said he cannot remember why inspection language was omitted. He confirmed that fire crews used to conduct tests on hydrants to determine whether they could open, whether there was water flowing and whether the hydrant could drain itself.

"I have no idea as to why inspections are not in the contract," he said. "I don't know if it was the result of negotiations or just an oversight."

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